Pasuram 2.3.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

சேர்ந்தார் தீவினைகட்கு அரு நஞ்சை திண் மதியை,
தீர்ந்தார் தம் மனத்துப் பிரியாது அவர் உயிரைச்,
சோர்ந்தே புகல் கொடாச் சுடரை அரக்கியை மூக்கு-
ஈர்ந்தாயை, அடியேன் அடைந்தேன் முதல் முன்னமே.

cērntār tīviṉaikaṭku aru nañcai tiṇ matiyai,
tīrntār tam maṉattup piriyātu avar uyiraic,
cōrntē pukal koṭāc cuṭarai arakkiyai mūkku-
īrntāyai, aṭiyēṉ aṭaintēṉ mutal muṉṉamē.

English translation of verse 2.3.6:

Unto your devotees, you vouchsafe a mind steady and bright.
Never apart from the devout, you are their very life and beacon light.
A deadly poison for their sins, the devil’s (Sūrpaṇakhā’s) nose you smote,
From the earliest time this vassal is at your feet.

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār affirms that he always belonged to the Lord and rejoices, now that he is in the Lord’s company, forgetting all the pangs of the earlier separation.

(ii) It is said that one has to inevitably pass through the reactions of one’s past actions. But this is true only in the case of those who are not devoted to the Supreme Lord, while, in respect of the devout, He operates as a deadly poison, destroying all their sins.

(iii) Steadfastness of mind is indeed one of His great gifts. Here is a nice illustration.

When king Ambaṛṣa was doing Tapas, in devout contemplation of Lord Mahā Viṣṇu, the Lord appeared before him, disguised as Indra and insisted that the King should ask of him boons. As Indra was not the Deity the King was meditating upon, the latter resented the former’s intrusion and requested him to get away, his exalted position notwithstanding

(iv) When a lustrous gem is reclaimed from the slush into which it had got sunk for long, it shines again as before, as this sheen is nothing new and the lustre always belonged to it. Similar is the case with the Āḻvār who always belonged to the Lord, but stands reclaimed only now.